The iconic postmodern Toronto Dominion tower at King and Ontario Streets graces the city’s skyline with its unique, stepped profile, sturdy marble façade, and ornamental pediments, domes and clock faces. The construction of the tower alongside City Hall in the early nineties ushered in a new sense of architectural opulence in the downtown cityscape but original plans called for double the steps, and double the domes. A TD twin was originally slated to mirror the King Street tower, rising from the lot at Ontario and Charles Streets. Plans for the doppelgänger were dashed by an economic downturn, and while the property on which the cloned tower would have risen still represents a significant development opportunity, the likelihood of an identical tower is as dead as the dreary downtown of old.
Matt Smith
PHOTO & WORDS
Alistair MacLellan
ILLUSTRATION
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